Jeremy Duda Books

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On June 2, 1976, Arizona Republic journalist Don Bolles went the Clarendon Hotel in Phoenix to meet a source who'd promised a hot tip about land fraud and political corruption. The source called off the meeting, and as Bolles left, a dynamite bomb exploded underneath his car. Bolles survived the initial blast, and used his final words to tell paramedics and bystanders who came to his aid who he thought was responsible.

"They finally got me ... Emprise ... the Mafia ... John Adamson. Find him."

Thus began a case that would last nearly two decades as investigators tried to unravel the conspiracy to murder Don Bolles. 

Phoenix police followed Bolles' advice and found John Adamson quickly. It was clear that Adamson was only a pawn. But for who? Bolles had spent years reporting on Mafia infiltration in Arizona and the nebulous world of the state's dog racing tracks, jointly controlled by the sports concessions company Emprise. Would the investigation lead back to them, as Bolles' dying words suggested? Adamson claimed he was hired by Phoenix contractor Max Dunlap, who wanted Bolles killed because of his coverage of liquor magnate Kemper Marley. But was Adamson protecting someone else? 

After nearly a decade of meticulous research, the full story of Don Bolles' assassination and the investigation into his murder can finally be told.